Wire garment hanger forming machine



Sept. 4, 1951 o. R. BREKLE WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 8, 1946 INVENTOR.

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DRE/(LE Sept. 4, 1951 o. R. BREKLE 0 WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR" 3 0mm? 7?. DEE/(LE Sept. 4, 1951 o. R. BREKLE 2,566,400

WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July s; 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

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7 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR 04/1 51? 18 BEE/(LE AZm/EWZ i \\N\ o Sept. 4, 1951 WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1946 p 4. 1951 o. R. BREKLE 2,566,400

WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July a, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 .Q FJ- k i iii.

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WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 274 f f f7 37 36 3 Z (a INVENTOR.

OLIVER E. EIPE'KL E Sept. 4, 1951 o. R. BREKLE 2,566,400

WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Filed July 8, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 ATTOENEY Patented Sept. 4, 1951 WIRE GARMENT HANGER FORMING MACHINE Oliver R. Brekle, Birmingham, Ala., assignor to .Pre'cision'CrownLGompany, Birmingham, :Ala.,.a partnership composed of MiltonM. 'Magnus and Oliver It. Brekle Application July 8, 1946, Serial No. 68'2,045

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to apparatus 'formaking wire garment hangers. and? has .ifor .an object-the provision of apparatus .of the :character designated which shall be sturdy of design,m1"eliable in operation and efiective to .form.snchihangerssat an exceptionally fast-rate.

My improved machine. is of thatItypein'Which pre-cut and straightened-blanks are .fed oneat a time to the =forming.mechanism;and includes among other novel features whichwill become apparent from a reading of .thisspecificatiomthe provision of improvedformi-ng and shaping members including means .for forming the body of the hanger and. holding .it .on .the body forming members while the shank and hook arebein formed. Includednin theiformingi means areicam actuated members for accurately positioning the wire blank as the hangeriswbeing ,formed. ,All motions for work ona .blankareinproper timed relation by reasonofthe. fact thatallsuch motions are derived from asinglecam shaft.

Another important feature "of :my :invention resides in a twister. headcmovable :atutheiappro- .priate time in:the.cycle of operation into engagement with the endsof the wire .blank to twist theminto .a. shank :for' the hanger, and in which means are provided .-to stopthemachine in.;event .thexends of the wire are out of alignment with the: head.

Apparatus'embodyingieatures of mynvention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of'this application, in which Fig. lis a plan viewiof the-apparatus;

Fig. 2.is a frontelevational "view;

Fig.2a is a sectional view taken alongthe. line IIw-IIa'of Fig. 2;

Fig. 3 is an end view, partly broken. .away .and partly in. section;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional zplan-lviewt showing the mechanism for formingthe qbody z-of the hanger;

Fig. 5 is a. diagrammatic-perspective view .ofzthe main camrshaftand showing the forming jaws and anvils for forming the body of the; hanger;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view takenialongrthe-line VIV'I of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a sectional" view taken; along .the ,line VIP-VII of Fig. 4;

:Fig. 8 is a sectional view-taken along rthenlin 'VIII-VIH of Fi .4

Fig.9 :is..a ,detailwperspective View of oneend .of the movable forming bar;

Fig. '10 is a. fragmentary. sectional .view ;taken .along the line X X.0f Fig. 4;

Fig. 21 1 is 1 a :detail sectional view 1 taken a'long the line XI-XI of Fig. 10;

thereon for engaging the blanks. alsoprovided resilient; supports ,3.6 and '31 for. the

Fig. 12 is a wiring diagram of the electricrcircuits controlling the stop mechanism;

Fig. 13 to 16 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating the successive. movements-0f the machine in forming a coat hanger;

Fig. 1'7 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the means for imparting motionrto the rotary chuck or twister;

Fig. 18 is a detail sectional .view taken along the line -XVIII.XVIII ofFig. .1;

Fig..19 is a diagrammatic view illustratin the sequence of operation of .the -.machine; :and

Fig. 20 isa side view of the hooks forming ,head.

Referring now to the drawings tor ,,a better understanding of my invention, ,my improved machine embodies a: frame having vertical members- 10 at one endand. I Latgthe other end. {The vertical members are joined by transverse members 12 at the bottom ,and ,l.3cat the top. Longitudinally extendingxmembersld ,and l5a1so join the vertical: members atzthe. top, the vertical and transverse members thus forming a working bed, or support forthe variousparts. -Mo,unt edon the cross member l2at;one,end of the'machinevisan electric .motor I6 which drives a cross shaft ,l 1 through .a V belt i8, the shaft extending the length of the machine. ,A sprocket l9 mounted onthe shaft I! drives-a main cam shaft II by means of a sprocket; chain .22. As will be later seemall movementsin; the forming of the hangers are derived from themain cam shaft 2|.

At 'the front of ;the .machine, I provide a, feed hopper .23 havingsidesand ends and -a bottom formed of downwardly .sloping ,plates 24. Precut and .pre-straightened wire blanks B are loaded into the .hopper 2.3 .;and. more by .;gravity,-, rearwardly towarda .not,ch: 2 6 extending downwardly through the top .ofgthe irame and of a width topass the ,blanksoneat a time. Anagitator :bar 21 extending longitudinally of ,the .hopper, parallel to the slot v2ii and to the rear thereof forms the .back of the hopper. The bar-21,15

given ,a ,slight; reciprocatory motion by means .of eccentrics 28 mounted on the shaft l1 and .con-

nected to the bar ZLbymeansof connecting rods 29. The bar v21; serves ,tolplaceuthe blanlgsin parallehsmwith the-slot 26 :as they roll downwardly in the hopper-and insures.thattheblanks will nothang up ll'lgthe slot. The blanks ipass downwardly through the slot 26 andcome to, rest. one. ontop ,of the other, ,onapairof stationary supports 3| and 32 havingshoulders;33 and 3,4 .There ,.,are

blanks which care-spaced .from thestationary supports 3 hand 32,.- as shown in Eig. 2, ,and ,each

comprises a hollow sleeve 31 through which a screw 38 extends and which supports a washer 39 by means of a spring 4|. A guard 42 extends downwardly at the rear of the blanks on the stationary support to a point slightly below the upper level of the lowest blank.

Disposed directly to the rear of the lowest blanks B resting on the supports 3I and 32 is a stationary forming bar 43 secured to the rear of the frameas by means of bolts 44. The stationary forming bar 43 is located to one side of a point midway between the ends of the blanks. It is provided with rounded ends 45 and 4'! for placing a slight rounded bend at the ends of the body of the hanger while it is being formed for the purpose of preventing the downward bowing of the lower or transverse portion of the hanger when it is finally formed.

In order to form the bends just mentioned, and shown'particularly in Fig. 4 of the drawing, 1 mount a movable forming bar 48 in front of the stationary bar 43 and in front of the three lower blanks B. The movable bar 48 is supported from a stationary bar 49 by means of pins, or bolts and 52 which pass through holes in the stationary bar with which they have a sliding fit and are screwed into the movable bar 48. Springs 53 and 54 surround the bolts 5I and 52 at their outer end and bear against the heads of the bolts to bias the movable bar 48 forwardly away from the blanks B. An actuating pin- 50 is secured to the movable bar 48 and passes through an opening 51 in the stationary supporting bar 43. The upper rearward corners of the movable forming bar 48 are cut away as shown at 58 and 59 whereby when the bar is moved rearwardly to strike the two lower blanks B, the upper blank engaged by the'movable bar is not subjected to a bending action adjacent the rounded ends 46 and 41. Motion is imparted to the movable forming bar 48 by means of a presser member GI' carried by a rock shaft 62 and disposed, when actuated, to strike the striker pin 55. The rock shaft 02, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawing, is mounted at the front of the frame of the apparatus and is pro vided with an arm 63 having a roller 64 on the end thereof, in position to be moved by a cam 05 mounted on the main cam shaft 2 I, the roller 54 being engaged at the beginning of the cycle of operation as hereinafter described.

Disposed in front of the forming bars, atthe ends thereof, are a pair of curved oscillating arms 66 and'BI which are monuted in vertical bearings 68 and 69 on the under side of the upper, longitudinally extending frame member I4. See Fig. 2. The curved arms are each provided, on its upper surface, with a shoulder I2, as shown in Fig. '4, which is disposed as the arm is oscillated, to engage the lowest blank B and bend it about the stationary forming bar 43. Motion is imparted to the arms 66 and 61 by means of sprockets I3 and I4 mounted, respectively, on the lower ends of the shafts 66' and 61 of the arms drawing, each time the curved arms 66 and 6'! oscillate, the lowest blank B resting on the shoulders 33 and 34 of the supports SI and 32 is engaged by the shoulder I2 on each of the arms and is bent around the stationary forming bar 43 to the triangular shape shown in Figs. 4 and 14 to form the body of the hanger. The oscillating arms and 61 and the forming bar 43 are so positioned with respect to the mid position of the blanks B that one end L of the blank, when bent about the forming bar 43, is longer than the other end S. Also, theoscillating arm 61 is caused to lead the arm fifi in the bending movement so that the short end S of the blank overlies the long end L, as more particularly explained hereafter.

Mounted at the rear of the stationary forming bar 43 midway the ends thereof is an anvil 92. The anvil 92 is stationary and is secured to the main frame by any suitable means, not shown. The rear or working face 93 of the anvil 92 slopes forward slightly from its mid position and is provided with a forming and separating lug 94 extending rearwardly therefrom, the upper half of the lug 94 having a vertical face, as shown, and the lower half being provided with a downwardly inclined projection 96 which serves to position the ends L and S of the blank B vertically when they are bent about the forming bar 43 and anvil 92 by the arms 06 and 61.

Mounted on opposite sides of the anvil 92 are a pair of opposed, reciprocating forming jaws 91 and 98. The jaws 91 and 98 are slidably supported in slots 99 and [III in the main frame into which fit heads I02 and I03 forming a part of the forming jaws. Longitudinally extending rods I04 and I00 are connected to the jaws 9'! and 98 at one end and at the other end, respectively, have mounted thereon roller carrying blocks I0! and I08 having, respectively, rollers I09 and III mounted on the under sides thereof. The rollers I09 and III bear against the sides of cams H2 and I I3 mounted on the main cam shaft 2I which are so shaped, as shown in Fig. 5, as to move the jaws 91 and 98 laterally toward the anvil 92 and hold them in that position for the major portion of a revolution of the cam shaft 2I., The cams are relieved as shown at H4 and H6 topermit the forming jaws 91 and 98 to move away from the anvil 92 for a short period during eachrevolution. The jaws 91 and 98 are moved away from the anvil 92 at such times by means of springs II! and H8 extending longitudinally of the bed of the machine and secured each at one end to one of the forming jaws and each at its other end to suitable brackets II9 and I2I carried by the main frame. See Fig. l. The inner working faces and 61. Sprocket chains I6 and I! pass reof the forming jaws 91 and 98 are hat and rearwardly inclined as shown at I22 and I23, particularly in Figs. 4 and 16, to correspondto the working face 93 of the anvil 92. The under side of the jaw 91 around which the long end L of the blank B is drawn in the bending operation is downwardly sloped as shown at I24 so that said long end is passed under the short end S in bending. 1

When the forming jaws 91 and 98 move into engagement with the lowest blank B, as shown in Fig. 15, the body of the hanger is formed and the ends L and S of the blankare bent 'by the forming jaws, in cooperation with the forming lug 94 on the anvil 92 to project rearwardly in parallelism. The blank is gripped and held in that position as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, during further operation and until the hangeris completed. '2

geriatric In-order to furtheri-nsure the properpositioningoftheblank Bwith respect-to the anvil 9'2 and-forming jaws '91 and9'8, Iprovide alifting arm I26-which-e-xtends diagonally across the bed of-the machine beneath the path of the long end L of th'e' blank, when it is being 'bent about the statio'nary forming bar 43. The 'function of this lifting-arm is to raise the blank into the path of "the forming flaws. The forwardend 'of the lifter arm "I26 is secured to a rocker shaft I 21 mounted in suitable brackets I28 on the frame, in 'front ofthe main'cam shaft '21. Carried by the *arm I 26 is abracket 129, havinga roller I31, mounted thereon. A small cam I32 on themain cam shaft Z-I strikes the roller HI and raises the arm 126 just before theforming jaws 91 and 68 move into position to engage the blank. The outer endof the arm I26 curves downwardly slightly as shown-to insure being beneath the lon'g end Lof the blan-kas it is bentaround-the stationary forming bar.

Theends L and S ofthe-blank-are twisted into a shank T, as shown in Fig. 16, by-meansof a rotary chuck or twister head I33 having a passage ltd therein, elliptical in cross section to receive the ends L ands of the blank 'B whenthe head is moved into engagement with said ends. The head I3-3,*or chuckyis-mounted in a suitable bearing I36 on an arm I31 which is pivoted to a bracket I33 on the end of the main frame, to swing in a horizontal plane, the pivot pointbeing shown at I39 in Fig. 1. The arm I31 isprovided with a lower brace 4i which is connected to the arm I31 at its outer end by means of a vertically "extending member I42, mounted to oscillate in the ends of the-arm. I31 and brace I4I, as shown particularly in Fig. 1 7 of the drawing. A rod I43 secured to the member I42 extends rearwardly alongside the end of the frame and is guided by a bracket I44 securedto the frame and having an opening therein to receive the rod. -A roller I46 is mounted on the member I42 on one side thereof and lies in the path of a cam I41 mounted on the outer end of the cam shaft 2I. The cam I41 engages the roller I46 at the appropriate point in the cycle of operation to swing the arm I31 horizontally about its pivot I36 so that the ends L and S of the blank B pass into the opening I34 in the twister head. A spring I48 connects at one end to the arm I31 and at the other to the rearof the frame to return the arm I31 when it becomes disengaged from the cam I41. A stop 149 mounted on the rear of the frame is disposed to engage the arm I31 and limit its backward movement, and an adjustable stop II, mounted on the front of the frame limits the forward movement of the arm I31.

Rotary motion is imparted to the rotary chuck, ortwister head I 33, by means of a sprocket chain I52 which passes around a sprocket I53 on the rearof the twister head. The chain I52 is connected at one write a lever I54 pivotally mounted at I56 on the rear of the frame and having its outer end connected to a return spring I51, the latter being connected at its other end to the frame at I58. The other reach of the chain i52 passes over an idler pulley I59 having its shaft I6I carried by the arm I31 and extends downwardly therefrom, at the end of the frame, over a floating 'spocket I62 mountedon a bracket I65 carried by a lever I63. The chain then extends upwardly over a stationary idler sprocket I64 mounted on a bracket I'64a secured to the end of the frame. It passesthencedownwardly about a second floating sprocket I66 mounted on the 6. bracket I65. Thechain then'ce passes upwardly and is connected at its upper end-at I61 -to-the bracket IBM. The lever-I63 is pivotally mounted at I 6 8 to the end of the f-ram-e, at'the front t-hereof,beneath a cam I GQ 'mounted on the main cam shaft 2|. The cam I69 is so shaped that when the twister head 163 has moved into "engagement with the ends of theblank, the lever I63is depressed, thereby moving its free end downward with the floating sprockets l62 and I66, imparting a multiplied motion tothe sprocket "I 53 about which the chain I62 passes. During the twisting movementjthe arnrlt l is swung about its pivot I56,againstthe tension of the springIBl. It will be noted that the cam IE9 is provided with a slight protuberance III/t'ne purpose of which is to relieve'the tensionon the lever'ItSat-the-end of the twisting movement andto allow thetwister head 'I 33torelaX its strain-on'the shank of the hanger just before th'ecam -I 41 is disengagedfrom the roller I46 to-allow the spring F48 to swing the arm I31 rearwardly with the'twister head.

Should it occur that the-ends L and Sof the blank failto enter the passage I34 in the twister head I 3 3, I'provide means for automatically stopping the machine and preventing damage thereto. The automatic stop'mechanisrn-is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 12 of the drawing. As therein shown, the motor "I6 is provided with the usual circuit I12 and is controlled by a switch I13 connected for operation to the core "I14 of a solenoid having a-winding I16. The winding I16 is connected on one sideto one wire of the circuit I12 and on the other side to a conducting'plate I I? carried by the twisterhead I33 and insulated therefrom. This conducting plate'is mounted on the front of the twister head I33 and partially surrounds it. The frame of the machine is connected to the ground asshown. "Shouldthe ends L or S of the "blank fail to enter the passage I34 and strike the conducting plate I11, a circuitis made through the winding I16, the conducting plate I11, through the blank to ground, thereby energizing the winding I16 and opening the switch I13 to stop thedrlving motor It. The switch I13 is closed manuallyto restart the motor I 6.

After the shank has been twisted and formed as described, the long end L of the blank is engaged by rollers I18 and I19 on a rotary hook forming head IBI, and the end is bent orformed into a hook as shown in Fig. l60f the drawing. The forming head IBI is mounted in a suitable bearing I82 carried on the front curved-end of anarm I83 secured to a shaft I84 at the rear of the machine. The shaft I84 is mounted in'bearings I86 and I81to swing in a vertical plane. A guide arm "I88 is secured to the arm I83 and extends forwardly across the machine to terminate between vertical guides I89 mounted on the front of the machine. A spring I9I is connected to the upper end of the guides I89 at one end and at its lower end is connected to the guide arm I88 to bias the arm 183'upwardly. Depending fromthe outer end of arm I63 and in position to lie alongside the projecting ends of the blank B as the shank T is formed, is a lug I830,

which serves to'prevent bending of the shank as Ward end or the link I 93 is a roller 19-! which lies 7 in the path of a cam I98 mounted on the cam shaft 2i. The cam I98 acts to swing the link I93 rearwardly and rock the shaft I84 through the arm I92 to lower the hook forming head I8I into engagement with the long end L of the 5 blank. 7

Rotary motion is imparted to the hook forming member IBI by means of a sprocket chain 20! which passes about a sprocket 232 on the upper end of the hook forming member and which 10 is secured at one end to a Spring 203. The other end of the spring is connected to the shaft 234 of an idlersprooket 203, mounted on the shaft I84 so as to oscillate therewith. The chain 2lll passes around the idler sprocket 203 and thence across to the rear corner of the machine and thence downwardly over an idler sprocket 201. The chain is connected at its lower end to a lever 238 which extends across to the front of the machine and is pivotally connected to the frame thereof at 209. It will be noted that the chain 29I is turned at right angles as shown at 2| I, between the sprockets 201 and 206 in order to pass over said sprockets. Motion is imparted to the lever 288 by means of a roller 2 I3 mounted on a plate 2!! carried by the shaft 2I directly above the lever 208. This roller engages the lever during the cycle of operation and moves the rear end thereof downwardly, pulling the endof the chain 2M downwardly and thereby imparting rotary motion to the sprocket 202. This action occurs after the rotary head IBI has been moved downwardly into engagement with the end L of the blank. The lever 208 is provided with a slight protuberance 2M to provide the final limit of rotary motion to the hook former NH and which permits a slacking off or reverse motion of the hook former at its completion, thereby releasing it from the blank before it is raised out of the way by the action of the spring NH.

After the hanger has been completed as described, the forming jaws 91 and 93 move laterally away from the anvil 92 and the hanger is stripped from the anvil and the forming bar 43. gig- The ejecting mechanism comprises a rocker shaft 2I6 mounted in suitable bearings 2I6 on the frame and having two forwardly extending arms 2I9 and 22I which terminate immediately adjacent the rounded end 46 and 41 of the stationary 5 5,9 forming bar 43. Each of the arms 2H! and 22I is provided, adjacent the forming bar 43 with a lug 223 the outer surface of which is inclined toward the forming bar 43, as shown in Fig. 10 of the drawing, and which terminates adjacent n the forming bar at a point slightly below the upper surface of the lowest blank B. As shown in Fig. 8, the arm 2 I9 when in its uppermost position bears against the under side of the longitudinal frame member I4 where it extends rear- 159 wardly from the hopper 23. The lug 223 performs an important function in the forming of the body of the hanger. As shown in Fig. 10, it will be seen that when the lowest blank B is bent about the stationary forming bar 43 by the arms 85 66 and 61, the inclined surface 223 causes the front of the hanger, or transverse bar section thereof, to be moved to the lowest position on the forming bar 43. At the same time, as already described, the ends of the blank are being raised by the inclined lug 96 on theanvil 92 and by the lifting arm I23. The blank is thus properly positioned with respect to the anvil, the forming jaws, the twisting mechanism.

Referring to Fig. 18, the shaft MS has mounted in thereon an arm 224 carrying a roller 223 which rides on the cam 2I3 for actuating the forming jaw 98. A projection 221 on the cam H3 strikes the roller 226 at each revolution of the cam, thereby rocking the shaft 2H5 and forcing the arms 2i!) and 22I downwardly to eject the finished hanger. A Spring 228 is connected to an arm 229 on the shaft 2 I6 and at 23l to the frame to bias the shaft 2I3 clockwise, as shown at Fig. 18, to hold the roller 226 in engagement with the cam II3.

Mounted immediately beneath the forming bar 43 is a slide 232 which is downwardly inclined except at its forward end where it is upturned as shown at 233. The ejected hangers pass down the slide 232 and are retained on the upturned end 233 until removed.

From the foregoing description, the operation of my improved apparatus will be readily understood. Referring particularly to Figs. 13 to 16 and 19, pre-cut and pre-straightened blanks B are placed within the hopper 23 and move by gravity down the inclined bottom pieces 24 to the rear of the hopper. There they are engaged by the reciprocating agitating vbar 21 which maintains them parallel with the slot 26 in the bottom of the hopper, through which they pass in single file to rest on the shoulders 33 and 34 of the stationary supports SI and 32. The lowest blank B is engaged by the shoulders 12 on the oscillating arms 66 and 61 and the blank is bent about the stationary forming bar 43 to the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawing. While being bent about the stationary bar, the moving forming bar 48 is pressed by the arm 43, forcing the lower two blanks against the forming bar 43 to form the curved end bends.

As the arms 66 and 61 bend the blank to the position shown in Fig. 14, the lifting arm I26 raises the long end L of the blank and places it in proper position to be engaged by the forming jaws 91 and 98. The forming jaws 91 and 93 are next moved laterally with respect to the anvil 92 as shown in Fig. 15 of the drawing, and the body of the hanger is formed with the ends L and S of the blank extending rearwardly in parallelism in front of the twister head I33. The twister head is then moved horizontally to engage the ends L and S, the long end L passing entirely through the opening I34. Rotary motion is then imparted to the twister head I33 by the sprocket chain I52 and the shank T is formed as shown in Fig. 16. When the shank has been formed, the hook former head I8I moves downwardly and the long end L of the blank is engaged by the rollers I18 and I19. Rotary motion is imparted to the hook former by means of the sprocket chain 201 and the hook former is rotated sufficiently for the hook to be formed. As the hook forming is completed, the head I8I is relieved slightly by reason of the roller 2I3 passing over the projection 2I4 on the lever 233 whereupon the hook former is raised by the spring I9I out of the way of the hanger. The'projecting arms 2I9 and '22! are next moved downwardly so that the heads 223 engage the finished hanger and strip it from the stationary forming bar 43 and the cycle of operation recommences.

It will be seen that all forming motions are derived from the single main cam shaft 2| and are thus always in properly timed relation. I have found in the actual operation of my improved machine that garment hangers may be formed rapidly and economically. The machine is rarely stopped by reason of defects in the machine and ifia defective blank' fails to enter the. passage I314 inthetwistershead. l 33, the machineis stopped by the motor switch" I73 being, opened by; the solenoid; I16; before any damage can result to the machine.

From the-foregoing, it will be apparent. that I have devised an improved garment hanger machine which is sturdy and reliableof operation and capable of rapid and economical manufacture of. hangers.

While I have shown m invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the 'sipirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a wire working machine in which precut wire blanks are fed to forming mechanism one at a time, a hopper for the blanks havin a sloping bottom with anarrow slot therein at the side nearest the machine and adapted to pass'the blanks one at a time, a longitudinally extending agitatingbar alongside the hopper adjacent the slot, a; resilient support mounted under the hopper; in'position to, receive the blanks, a forming anvil, and swinging arms having bossesthereon to engageithe lowest blank on the support and bend it? about the. forming anvil.

2 In a wire. working machine in which procutwireblanks are fed to forming mechanism one at: a time, a hopper for the'blanks havinga sloping:bottom with a narrow slot' therein at the side nearest the machine and adapted to pass the blanks oneat a time, a longitudinally extending agitatingbar in the hopper adjacent the slot, a

resilient support mounted under the hopper in position to receive the blanks, a forming anvil, a stationary forming bar in front of the anvil and having rounded ends, a movable forming bar disposed in front of the stationary bar and the lowest blanks on the support, means to drive the movable bar against the blanks between it and the stationary bar to shape slight rounded bends in the blank forming the ends of the body of the hanger, and swinging arms having shoulders thereon to engage the lowest blank on the support and bend it about the anvil.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which a stationary retaining means extends downwardly at the rear of the blanks on the resilient supports to a point slightly below the upper surface of the lowest blank.

4. In a machine for making wire garment hangers in which pre-cut blanks are fed successively to the machine, a forming anvil, oscillating arms disposed to engage the blanks successively and bend them in triangular form about the anvil with one end longer than the other, forming jaws mounted to reciprocate on opposite sides of the anvil to form the body of the hanger, means to reciprocate the jaws to engage the blanks successively and hold them in engagement with the anvil until the hanger is completed, a forming lug on the rear of the anvil and cooperating with the forming jaws to turn the ends of the blank in outward parallelism, a twister head having a slot therein for engaging the ends of the blank, a swingable arm upon which the twister head is mounted, means to swing the arm into position for the ends of the blank to be engaged after they are turned outward, means to rotate the twister head to form the-J shank of the hangerinoludingmeans torelieve the twister head when the shank is completed, means to swing the arm outof the way when the shank is completed, and a hook former movablev into-engagement with the long end of theiblank to form a hook therein after the-shank is formed.

5: In, amachine a for forming wire garment hangers including a, feed hopper having a. slot in the bottom thereof through which pre-cut and pro-straightened blanks pass one at a time, the combination. of resilient supporting means for theblanks disposedbeneath the hopper, a stationary forming bar and an anvil disposed alongsidezthe-lowestzblanks:and toone'side of themid point between the; ends thereof, said forming barhaving rounded projections on the ends thereof, a pair of curvedarms disposed beneath therblanksand having shoulders thereon for engaging' the; lowestblank, means to swing the curved arms, about the stationary forming bar and anvilto' form: the body-of the hanger-with the arm engaging the short end of the blank leading; a movable forming; bar disposed to' cooperaterwith, the stationary bar and form slight rounded bends at. the-endsof the body of the hanger, means to actuate the movable forming bar to press the blank against-the stationary forming-bar; forming jaws on .opposite sides of the anvil for engaging theblank and pressing it against the anvil to form the body of the hanger, saidjaws havinglower downwardly inclined surfaces under which the blankis drawn, in-bendingaboutithe-anvil, means: to move the jaws into engagement. with theblank and hold them in engagement therewith" until the hanger is formed, a forming lug on the; anvil cooperating with the forming. jawsforcbending the endsv of, the blank into outward parallelism, means to twist the ends into a shank, means to form a hook on the long end of the blank, and means to eject the hanger after it is formed.

6. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, a forming anvil, oscillating arms for bending wire blanks successively about said forming anvil with one end longer than the other and with the short end overlapping the long end of the blank, reciprocable forming dies disposed on opposite sides of the anvil and movable inward to press a blank against the anvil and form the body of the hanger, a lifter arm extending across beneath the long end of the blank, and means to actuate the lifter arm in advance of the movement of the forming dies and raise the ends of the blank to position it between the forming dies and the anvil.

7. In a machine for making wire garment hangers, a forming anvil, oscillating arms for bending wire blanks successively about said forming anvil with one end longer than the other and with the short end overlapping the long end of the blank, reciprocable forming dies disposed on opposite sides of the anvil and movable inward to press a blank against the anvil and form the body of the hanger, a lifter arm extending across beneath the long end of the blank, means to actuate the lifter arm in advance of the movement of the forming dies and raise the ends of the blank to position it between the forming dies and the anvil, a forming lug on the rear of the anvil disposed to cooperate with the forming jaws to iii 8. Apparatus as set forth in claim 7 in which the twister head is mounted on an arm adapted to swing in a horizontal plane with the head in line with theends of the blank, and in which means are provided to swing the arm into position for the head to engage the ends of the blank and other means are provided to rotate the head a limited distance of rotation after it has engaged the ends of the blank.

9. In a machine for forming metal garment hangers from wire blanks in which the ends of the blanks are caused to enter and be twisted by a rotary chuck, an electrically conductive member adjacent the chuck and insulated therefrom, a frame for the machine connected to the ground and with which the blank is electrically connected during the twisting operation, an electric motor for the machine, circuits for supplying current to the motor and embodying at least one grounded conductor, a switch in series with the motor, and means responsive to establishment of a circuit through the conductive member and the frame to open the switch.

10. In a wire garment hanger forming machine in which the body of the hanger is first formed from a blank of predetermined length and the ends are then twisted into a shank, an electric motor for driving the machine, a circuit for'the motor, a twister head having a longitudinal opening therein for receiving the ends of the blank and twisting them, means to move the twister head into engagement with the ends of the blank, a conducting strip partially surrounding the twister head, and means responsive to contact between an end of the blank and the conducting strip for stopping theelectric motor.

11. In a wire garment hanger forming machine in which the body of the hanger is first formed from a blank of predetermined length and the ends are then twisted into a shank, an electric motor for driving the machine, a circuit for the motor including a switch, a conducting plate carried by the twister head and insulated therefrom, a wire included in the motor circuit, an electromagnetic device for operating the switch connected to said wire and to the conducting plate, the machine being grounded whereby if an end of the blank engages the conducting plate a circuit is completed through said electro-magnetic device, conducting plate and hanger blank to ground and the switch is opened to stop the motor.

OLIVER R. BREKLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,072,509 Sampson Sept. 9, 1913 1,488,850 Van Orman Apr; 1, 1924 1,488,996 McDonnell Apr. 1, 1924 1,550,824 Kuester Aug. 25, 1925 1,587,093 Van Veen June 1, 1926 1,679,204 Coney et a1 July 31, 1928 1,742,966 Muller Jan. 7, 1930 1,874,804 Resse Aug. 30, 1932 1,941,430 Boyles .1 Dec. 26, 1933 1,968,305 -Mcore July 31, 1934 2,035,658 Lewis Mar. 31, 1936 2,041,805 Backer May 26, 1936 2,081,167 Brownstein May 25, 1937 2,093,173 Olson et a1. Sept. 14, 1937 2,113,538 Merwin Apr. 5, 1938 2,218,104 Brignall Oct. 15, 1940 

